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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
Were you disappointed with the portrayal of P.T. Barnum in Greatest Showman? Well whooo boy do I have a book for you...
This was the first of Henry's recent works that didn't make it onto my best books list, but that's not to say it wasn't good. It was just...different. There isn't a great deal of conflict in this book. It's all very interpersonal, which is fine. It's just a bit slower than her other works have been. I really love Henry's characters, they always feel so real even when they are fantastical creatures, like a mermaid. I fully believe in them every moment.
So my two nitpicks on this story are that it did move a little too slow and, honestly....Part 1 was too good. The cottage by the sea and the story that takes place there was too sweet, and too comfortable that I didn't like having to leave it when Part 2 came along. I found myself sad that it was over and she wouldn't go back to it, and that made it harder to really connect with some of the choices she makes later in the story. It was too good. I suppose there are worse complaints to have.
This was the first of Henry's recent works that didn't make it onto my best books list, but that's not to say it wasn't good. It was just...different. There isn't a great deal of conflict in this book. It's all very interpersonal, which is fine. It's just a bit slower than her other works have been. I really love Henry's characters, they always feel so real even when they are fantastical creatures, like a mermaid. I fully believe in them every moment.
So my two nitpicks on this story are that it did move a little too slow and, honestly....Part 1 was too good. The cottage by the sea and the story that takes place there was too sweet, and too comfortable that I didn't like having to leave it when Part 2 came along. I found myself sad that it was over and she wouldn't go back to it, and that made it harder to really connect with some of the choices she makes later in the story. It was too good. I suppose there are worse complaints to have.
This was a good book but I just didn't love it, I didn't like how the Mermaid was treated by the people who saw her or by Barnum and Levi to be honest. Jack the fisherman was the best male character in this book, I liked how the mermaid thought the ways of women was backward and how she would do as she pleased up until she joined the museum and then she just didn't seem the same anymore.
Closer to 4.5. Christina Henry’s writing departs a little from her previous style, but nevertheless, The Mermaid is an enchanting and mesmerizing tale that showcases her talent in new light. Perhaps Barnum isn’t as evil as some might hope, but the depiction is still less than flattering and much more accurate than the sugar coated Hugh Jackman in The Greatest Showman. This book is dreamy, divine, melancholy, and damn near close to perfection.
It isn't bad just too descriptive for my liking. It's just a bit much.
3.5
I was Interested in this... Its not a retelling Per se but has aspects that are....
It wasn't the usual grey Christina Henry writes but i still enjoyed it enough
I was Interested in this... Its not a retelling Per se but has aspects that are....
It wasn't the usual grey Christina Henry writes but i still enjoyed it enough
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book is really good at taking the concept of what if mermaid were real but not in the classical way.
Christina Henry is really good at taking old tales such as the tale of the fisherman who fell in love with a mermaid and then spin that classic tale into something new and magical.
This is exactly what she does in the mermaid where we follow a mermaid and her meeting and business with P. T. Barnum.
Henry does an amazing job at keeping the reader interested and exploring how a mermaid could potentially look and act around humans.
I absolutely loved this book and I recommend everyone to read it
Christina Henry is really good at taking old tales such as the tale of the fisherman who fell in love with a mermaid and then spin that classic tale into something new and magical.
This is exactly what she does in the mermaid where we follow a mermaid and her meeting and business with P. T. Barnum.
Henry does an amazing job at keeping the reader interested and exploring how a mermaid could potentially look and act around humans.
I absolutely loved this book and I recommend everyone to read it
A lovely book, not the way I expected the story to go but I was left hoping for more :)
A good summer read, an interesting re-envisioning of the mermaid story. It didn’t grip me the way I had hoped, & it wasn’t engaging enough to keep me coming back. It doesn’t make me want to grab her other works but it also was not a bad read. Just fine.
I'm already not a huge fan of The Little Mermaid or the circus, and I ran out of time to really read it before I started the new semester. I do plan to return to it in the future.